Well, to get the new thread started. With minimal regulation changes between 2013 and 2012, It’s unavoidable that Vettel and Alonso will be in the top 6. Button probably too, as Macca will certainly be quick. Perez too. Webber and Massa are debatable. Raikkonen will perhaps be up there, depending on how the new Lotus shakes up to be. Grosjean, Hamilton and Rosberg are outsiders chances.

Button – I’m hoping that fewer operational errors this season will allow Mclaren to make a proper push at both titles.
Vettel – With stable rules RBR and Vettel will be the benchmark again.
Alonso – He’ll be there or there abouts again.
Raikkonen – If Lotus crack the Coanda effect he’ll win a few races.
Webber – Hoping he won’t get outclaserd by Vettel. He probably will though.
Hamilton – Gut feeling. His raw pace should mean he’ll edge Massa, Perez and Rosberg over the course of a season.

1. Vettel – RBR will likely be one of the top cars again and if they are able to reduce number of technical retirements close to zero it’s likely Vettel will win again.

2. Button – Without the pressure from Hamilton and full backing from the team, I predict we’ll see Button returning to his 2011 form. I also believe McLaren will produce a great car.

3. Webber – Webber will have a good car and good results, but he won’t quite reach Vettel’s form.

4. Alonso – Full backing from the team will help Alonso, but I doubt the other teams will be quite as scattered in 2013 as they were in the first half of the 2012 season, which helped Alonso a lot.

5. Hamilton – Mercedes will produce a better car than in 2012, but it won’t be quite as good as McLaren, Red Bull and Ferrari. Hamilton will have some great races and possibly a couple of victories, but he’ll also do some amateurish mistakes while trying to take the most out of his car.

6. Perez/Massa/Räikkönen – Perez and Massa will have top three cars, but they are known for slumps and/or mistakes. Räikkönen will do good job again, but Lotus probably won’t have a car that is as good as last year. Any of these three could reach top six.

WILD CARD: Bottas – Known to be as fast as Maldonado, so he could be the big surprise of the next season, if Williams will produce a good enough car and Bottas will be able to achieve steadier results than Maldonado. His rookie season could also be hard and disappointing.

1. Alonso: with Ferrari’s DRS-qualifying woes finally behind them, they can start races from the front, and who better to capitalize than Fernando?

2. Perez: McLaren will have a good car, and Sergio will get more out of the car and the races than Button.

3. Vettel: Surely Adrian Newey’s cars must be beaten some time. Still, they will not be slow, and Vettel has shown over the past few years that he can deliver the results.

4. Massa: It would be nice if all this “I can fight for the championship”, and “I would support Felipe” talk would become a reality, but the problem is that Massa will be probably expected to start moving over for Alonso as soon as Australia. Nevertheless, we might see the Massa of old again – and him on top of the podium again.

5. Hamilton: If Mercedes can build a decent car, and Lewis can maintain his 2012 form, then he should feature in the races.

6. Grosjean: he often had the speed last year, but a number of stupid incidents sapped his confidence. He has shown that he can outqualify Raikkonen, now he just needs to start finishing in front of him as well.

1. Vettel – It’s seb v Jenson and the qualifying speed he has ultimately wins him his fourth consecutive championship.

2. Button – McLaren build the fastest car and Jenson leads the championship for the most part, but as the second half of the season progresses his qualifying performance lets him down.

3. Webber – A better, more consistent season from Mark as he finally sorts out his starts and has better luck mechanically, beating seb fair and square more than a couple of times.

4. Alonso – In contrast to previous seasons, Ferrari start the season strong but developments fail and a less reliable package than in previous seasons means Alonso cannot challenge for the championship beyond Korea, All eyes on Domenicali as Ferrari fail Alonso for a fourth time.

5. Perez – Sergio claims his maiden win in mixed conditions in Canada and overall has a good first season for McLaren, often out-qualifying Jenson but being simply out-raced on many occasions by his more experienced team-mate.

6. Raikkonen – Another good season from Kimi notching up many podiums throughout the year, he gets the best from a car that is another nearly but not quite performance wise.